Quick Gobi (Cauliflower) Manchurian

Of the many cuisines I have tried so far, the one cuisine that has a special place in my heart is Indian Chinese a.k.a. Chindian. The food that for many years passed off as Chinese food in India. The chowmein from the roadside seller to the exotic(!) veg Munchurian with gravy, we have all had it at some point or another and we have liked it too. The Chinese may not recognise it but us desis do and sometimes that is all that matters.

So when I picked up a cauliflower in an attempt to include more vegetables in my daily diet, the only thing that popped in my head was to make some really quick Gobi (Cauliflower) manchurian, which teamed perfectly with the winter chill. And all it took was 20 mins. Here's how it goes, lazy cooks:  

For Florets
1 medium size cauliflower, broken into medium sized florets
1/2 cup corn flour
5 tablespoons all purpose flour (maida)
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
Oil, for deep frying
Salt to taste
Approximately 1/2 cup water

For the Sauce
1½ teaspoons garlic paste
2 teaspoons ginger paste
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 small green capsicum, finely chopped
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon chilli sauce
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup or tomato sauce
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons spring onion, finely chopped (for garnishing, optional)
Salt as per taste

Method
For the florets
1. Boil the florets in salted water for 4 mins, drain water and set aside
2. In a bowl, mix all purpose flour, corn flour, ginger paste, garlic paste and salt. Add water little by little and stir to make a batter. the thickness of the batter should be similar to thickness of dosa batter. Add all florets in batter and mix well. Ensure that the batter coats the florets evenly.
3. Heat oil in pan over medium flame and deep fry the florets in small batches of 6 to 8 till they turn golden brown. Drain and transfer the deep fried florets to plate with paper napkin on it to soak excess oil.

For the sauce
1. Heat 2-tablespoons of oil in a wide, thin-bottomed pan or wok on medium flame. Add ginger paste, garlic paste, chopped green chillies, chopped capsicum and chopped onion.
2. Sauté them on high flame for 3-4 minutes to eliminate the raw flavour of ginger and garlic.
3. Add soy sauce, tomato ketchup, chilli sauce and salt. Stir continuous and cook for a minute
4. Toss in the deep fried florets and mix all ingredients (florets and the sauce) on high flame for a minute.

Voila! it's ready to be plated and served hot with a generous sprinkling of finely chopped spring onions. 

5 Easy and Yummy Mocktails for Winter

I am back from my brief hiatus from my blog and I am hoping my absence will be excused if I share 5 really special easy winter mocktail recipes to be shared with friends and family---you know, the non-drinkers who inevitably end up with regular softdrinks for the evening.    

As always the case with Lazy Girl recipes, I had some criteria for sharing these with you guys:
1. Recipes had to be super-duper crazy simple
2. No fancy ingredients
3. They have to be quick to make
4. They have to be YUMMY. :)


Read on for recipes for:
1. Hot Apple Cider
2. Virgin Sangria
3. Mulled Apple Juice
4.Cranberry-Orange Cider
5. Orange-Cranberry Spritzer
        plus
One hot BONUS RECIPE for the romantics among you :)

1. Hot Apple Cider

Ingredients

2 Lts apple juice

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon cloves

½ teaspoon allspice powder

1 lemon thinly sliced

1 orange thinly sliced

  

Method

1. combine apple juice and spices in a large pan

2. bring to boil and simmer for 10 mins

3. strain the cloves and cinnamon sticks

4. add lemon and orange

5. cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes

6. serve warm

2. Virgin Sangria

Fresh produce

1 Apples chopped fine

1 Lemons cut in slim wedges

1 Limes cut in slim wedges

1 Oranges cut in slim wedges

Ingredients

2 Liters Ginger ale

300 mL Grape juice

Method

Throw all ingredients together in a serving bowl and keep for 30 mins before serving.

3. Mulled Apple Juice 

Ingredients

1 Liter apple juice

strips of 1-2 orange peel

1 cinnamon stick (plus extra to garnish, optional)

3 cloves 

Sugar or honey as per taste

Method

1.Simmer the apple juice with the strips of orange peel, cinnamon stick and cloves for 5 mins or until all the flavours have infused. Sweeten to taste.

2.Serve each drink with a little orange peel and a piece of cinnamon stick, if you like.

4. Cranberry-Orange Cider 

Ingredients

2 cups cranberry-apple juice

1 cup orange juice

1 cinnamon stick

2 orange slices

1 Tablespoon honey

Method

1. Add the cranberry-apple juice, orange juice, cinnamon stick, and orange slices to a medium saucepan over medium high heat.

2. Bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Remove the cinnamon stick and orange slices and stir in the honey. 

4. Serve warm and garnish with more orange slices & cinnamon sticks if you want.

5. Cranberry-Orange Spritzer

Fresh Produce

Cranberries, Fresh (optional)

Ingredients

2 cups Cranberry juice

2 cups Orange juice

2 cups Sparkling water or ginger ale

Ice (optional)

Method

Bring all ingredients together in the serving bowl and you are done!

Here's a bonus recipe for 2 for those of you who prefer to time away from the crowd and noise and spend a romantic winter evening together. Enjoy!

BONUS RECIPE: Caramelized White Chocolate "Hot Chocolate"

Ingredients (makes approximately two 150 mL servings)

120 gms white chocolate

200 mL milk

50 mL cream

Vanilla bean, optional

Cinnamon stick, optional

Salt, to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C and put the white chocolate in a glass or ceramic baking dish. No need to chop. Toss it in the oven and roast, stirring every 10 minutes or so. The white chocolate will be lumpy and crumbly, but that’s okay. Keep going until it takes on a peanut butter-like color in approximately 30 minutes total.

2. Meanwhile, bring the milk and cream to a simmer in a small pot. If you like, toss in a vanilla bean or cinnamon stick to add another layer of flavor.

3. When the white chocolate comes out of the oven, scrape it into the hot milk-mixture and whisk until smooth. 

3. Season with a pinch of salt.

4. Pour into mugs and enjoy.

Happy winter!